Anopheles sinensis Wiedemann (63.3%) was the most abundant Anopheles mosquito captured at cowshed resting collections in malaria high-risk areas (northern Gyeonggi Province) near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in Korea during 2005, followed by Anopheles kleini Rueda (24.7%) and Anopheles pullus M. Yamada (8.7%). At cowshed resting collections in malaria low-risk areas (Jeonnam and Gyeongnam provinces), An. sinensis accounted for 96.8% of all Anopheles spp. collected, followed by An. kleini Rueda (2.7%), whereas no An. pullus were collected. Three species, An. kleini (50.9%), An. pullus (29.0%), and An. sinensis (13.8%), accounted for nearly all of the 224 Anopheles spp. captured by New Jersey light trap near the DMZ. In addition, An. pullus and An. kleini captured by New Jersey light trap near the DMZ and assayed by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for Plasmodium vivax circumsporozoite antigen concentrations were higher than An. sinensis sensu stricto (s.s.), indicating higher levels of sporozoites. In laboratory studies of four concurrent artificial membrane feedings on malaria-infected blood from patients, F1 progeny of An. kleini and An. pullus had higher infection rates (8.8 and 7.5%, respectively) than An. sinensis s.s. (4.2%). These data suggest that An. kleini and An. pullus and An. sinensis are vectors of malaria in Korea. Further studies are required to determine the role of these species in the transmission of P. vivax in the Republic of Korea.

This study describes the seasonal distribution of larvae, nymph, and adult life stages for 3 species of ixodid ticks collected by tick drag and sweep methods from various habitats in the Republic of Korea (ROK). Grasses less than 0.5 m in height, including herbaceous and crawling vegetation, and deciduous, conifer, and mixed forests with abundant leaf/needle litter were surveyed at United States (US) and ROK operated military training sites and privately owned lands near the demilitarized zone from April-October, 2004 and 2005. Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann adults and nymphs were more frequently collected from April-August, while those of Haemaphysalis flava Neumann and Ixodes nipponensis Kitaoka and Saito were collected more frequently from April-July and again during October. H. longicornis was the most frequently collected tick in grass habitats (98.9%), while H. flava was more frequently collected in deciduous (60.2%) and conifer (57.4%) forest habitats. While more H. flava (54.1%) were collected in mixed forest habitats than H. longicornis (35.2%), the differences were not significant. I. nipponensis was more frequently collected from conifer (mean 8.8) compared to deciduous (3.2) and mixed (2.4) forests.

In order to determine the vector species of tsutsugamushi disease in Korea, chiggers were individually dissected, and internal contents were tested for Rickettsia tsutsugamushi organisms by means of indirect FA test, and each exoskeleton was mounted on slide for identification. Among 4,142 chiggers collected from 48 Apodemus agrarius at nine different localities during the period of July-November, 1989, 990 chiggers of 10 species of Trombiculidae were dissected and tested. Rickettsiae were confirmed in two Leptotrombidium pallidum larvae out of 447 tested, giving 0.4% of the infection rate. The chiggers of the other species tested were found negative.

Abstract. Field rodents and chigger mites were collected at 30 locations in Korea in October and November 1997-1999 to determine the serotypes of Orientia tsutsugamushi and their geographical distribution. A nested polymerase chain reaction was performed with the spleen tissues from 546 field-striped mice (Apodemus agrarius) and 104 pools of chigger mites. The positivity rate of O. tsutsugamushi was 45.6% in A. agrarius and 39.4% in the chigger mite pools. Two serotypes, Boryong and Karp, were found in these samples; the former was predominant (78.3% in the mice and 82.9% in the chigger mite pools), with wide distribution throughout the country, including Cheju-do. The latter was confined to the middle of the Korean peninsula, with positivity rates of 15.7% in the mice and 12.2% in the chigger mite pools. The double infection of Karp and Boryong serotypes was found in 15 (6.0%) A. agrarius mice. Gilliam serotype was not detected at any of the study locations. The Boryong and Kuroki serotypes were identical in amino acid sequence of the 56-kDa protein, although they differed in virulence to BALB/c mice.

Ophthalmomyiasis rarely occurs worldwide, and has not been reported in Korea. We present here a case of ophthalmomyiasis caused by Phormia sp. fly larva in an enucleated eye of a patient. In June 2010, a 50-year-old man was admitted to Dankook University Hospital for surgical excision of a malignant melanoma located in the right auricular area. He had a clinical history of enucleation of his right eye due to squamous cell carcinoma 5 years ago. During hospitalization, foreign body sensation developed in his right eye, and close examination revealed a fly larva inside the eye, which was evacuated. The larva was proved to be Phormia sp. based on the morphology of the posterior spiracle. Subsequently, no larva was found, and the postoperative course was uneventful without any complaints of further myiasis. This is the first case of ophthalmomyiasis among the literature in Korea, and also the first myiasis case caused by Phormia sp. in Korea.